BMX park might not be built at athletic complex

Before Tuesday's Columbia County Commission meeting, Commissioner Ron Thigpen predicted that a proposal to bring a BMX park to the county would be tabled for further study.

The commission did exactly that.

The proposal centered on bringing a BMX park to the new multi-million-dollar athletics complex near Lakeside High School. Construction is expected to begin on that facility within the next few months.

Though they tabled the issue, commissioners did express doubts about the proposed configuration before doing so.

They thought that the design of the facility would eliminate too many trees acting as a buffer between the parks and nearby homes.

Officials will consider looking at other parks as a possible home for a BMX track, or reconfiguring the track to work at the Lakeside park.

Though Thigpen noted that he hasn't "had the constituents in District 1 just running me down for a bicycle BMX track," Columbia County would seem like a suitable spot for just such a park.

For one, the majority of the riders who frequent Augusta's BMX facility hail from Columbia County.

In addition, the location of that park -- 2050 Division St. near Lake Olmstead Stadium -- is not an ideal place for a youth recreation facility.

To that end, Augusta BMX administrators have said they would jump at the opportunity to move to a new Columbia County location if one were to be built.

They were so excited about the prospect that they attended Tuesday's meeting. They said that they might make a presentation in upcoming committee meetings to promote the idea.

I do like that the idea is being tossed around. I think such a park would offer a unique recreational opportunity for the county's youth.

Columbia County is known for its prowess in recreational sports, but not everybody is a good baseball or soccer player.

Commission OKs joining of two trails

Commissioners Tuesday also accepted a $250,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to help fund the extension of the Euchee Creek Greenway.

Though only a 25 percent match by the county is required, officials have said that they likely will devote about $625,000 in 1-percent sales tax funds to the project, which will close a gap of about 1 mile between the Euchee Creek Trails in Grovetown and the Canterbury Farm Trail.

Once complete, the trail will be more than 2 miles long.

Columbia County already has plenty of trails, and the offering is even more impressive with the inclusion of trails that are not within the county.

For information on trails throughout the area, visit the CSRA chapter of the Southern Off Road Bicycle Association Web site at www.sorbacsra.org.